Todd McLellan | Center

Latest News

Recent News

The Edmonton Oilers have reportedly hired Glen Gulutzan and Trent Yawney to serve as assistant coaches.

If that's the case, then Todd McLellan will have plenty of experience on his coaching staff. Gulutzan spent the past two seasons as the Calgary Flames' bench boss and previously was the head coach of the Dallas Stars for two campaigns. Yawney also has some experience as an NHL head coach as he was in charge of the Chicago Blackhawks for about a year and a half during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 campaigns. Yawney has served as an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks for the last four seasons. May 24 - 1:18 PM

There's a significant chance that Edmonton will trade the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

They'd get a good prospect with that pick, but one that isn't likely to play in the NHL for at least a couple years. With Connor McDavid already playing at an elite level, they want to give him more support right away, especially after missing the playoffs last season. Trading their 10th overall pick is one way to do that, though of course it will all come down to what the return is. At any rate, don't be surprised if that pick does get moved. May 9 - 7:18 AM

Bench boss Todd McLellan will keep his job though. The Oilers are coming off a disappointing campaign where they fell well short of the playoffs. That's put heat on McLellan, but it seems that the Oilers will first try to make smaller changes to the coaching staff to see what that does. If the Oilers struggle again in 2018-19 then McLellan could be relieved at that point, though one would think that it would also raise further questions about GM Peter Chiarelli's job security. For the record though, Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson has stated that the team is moving forward with Chiarelli going into the 2018 offseason. Apr 27 - 3:30 PM

Oilers assistant coach Ian Herbers might end up back with the University of Alberta.

Herbers joined the Oilers in 2015, but rather than outright leave the University of Alberta, he received a three-year sabbatical that ran alongside his NHL contract. Both are set to expire on June 30th. It's possible that the Oilers will want him back, but they might also be looking to tweak the coaching staff after they failed to make the playoffs, even if Todd McLellan seems set to remain as the bench boss. Apr 24 - 5:04 AM

Depth Charts

Connor McDavid registered three assists as Canada earned a 5-4 overtime win over Russia in the 2018 World Championships Quarterfinals.

McDavid is up to five goals and 16 points in eight games in the 2018 Worlds. He got the primary assist on the overtime winner, which was scored by Ryan O’Reilly. Colton Parayko also came up big for Canada with a goal and an assist. Canada will now face the winner of Switzerland versus Finland.

Ryan Strome is optimistic about the Oilers' chances of bouncing back in a big way next season.

"Look at Winnipeg and Tampa Bay, they both missed the playoffs and now they’re a possible Stanley Cup final matchup," Strome said. "I’m not saying that’s us, but we have a good hockey team, we have a good thing going. It hasn’t been our year but we have a lot of good people in this organization who are going to be here for a long time. As much as it sucks and this year has been tough, you learn a lot about your team and who you are and the way people handle themselves in these situations." He's had a disappointing campaign with 13 goals and 33 points in 80 games, but at least now he's gotten used to being with the Oilers. There is some hope that he can breakout next season, though he's becoming a risky sleeper candidate at this point.

Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli voiced his support of Milan Lucic following the player's rough 2017-18 campaign.

Lucic, who Chiarelli signed to a seven-year, $42 million contract in July 2016, had just 10 goals and 34 points in 82 games this season. "He’s got to obviously produce more and there were a lot of areas of his game that were subpar," said Chiarelli. "Finishing, defensive-zone play. But he’s still young (29 turning 30 this June) in the big picture. He’s got tremendous character and I know the work he’s put in in previous summers. He knows where his game has to be as the NHL’s advanced and he’s committed to that. I liked his skating (this year). I thought he worked on that last summer." Lucic also said he expects to be better in 2018-19. Chiarelli certainly needs to hope that he'll improve because right now that contract isn't looking favorable.

There's reportedly a reasonable chance that Anton Slepyshev will end up signing a KHL contract.

Slepyshev's KHL rights were recently dealt from Salavt Ufa to CKSA Moscow, which is expected to now push to sign him. His contract with the Oilers expires on June 30th and while he'll still be a RFA, he would be eligible to sign in the KHL. Slepyshev might also attempt to use this situation as leverage to get the Oilers to trade him. He was used sparingly in 2017-18 as he appeared in just 50 games.

Leon Draisaitl scored a power play goal in the Oilers 3-2 win on Saturday.

It was Draisaitl's 25th of the season and only his sixth on the power play as the Oilers were the worst team in the NHL with the man-advantage. The goal also gave Draisaitl 70 points this season. It was an off-year for the winger and expect 80-85 points next season. Draft him accordingly.

The Edmonton Oilers lost tonight's game against the Calgary Flames by a score of 3-2.

Both Kassian and Anton Slepyshev were both heavily involved in the game tonight, with the former picking up two assists while the latter had the opening goal of the game. Kassian is now up to seven goals and 19 points in 71 games this season. It doesn't look like the former first round pick will ever develop the offensive side of his game that some thought he had. Mike Cammalleri also scored in the loss.

It was just the second fight of Caggiula's NHL career. The sophomore sparred with Calgary's Mark Jankowski. "I’m not afraid of challenges like that. I hit him pretty hard, clean hit but he asked me to fight and I said, ‘Yeah,’" Caggiula said. "I’m not really scared – OK there’s a few guys I wouldn’t ask and a couple are on my team. I didn’t get hit with any, and I don’t know if he did. My (recently repaired) teeth were fine. Good wrestling match, I guess." Caggiula isn't a major source of penalty minutes as he has 33 PIM in 64 games this season. He also has 13 goals and 19 points.

The fourth overall pick in 2016, Puljujarvi has a ton of talent and it is showing at the NHL level this season. The 19-year-old has 12 goals and 20 points in 56 games but look for plenty more in 2018-19, especially if the Oilers play the speedy winger with the speedy Connor McDavid. He was a plus-three as well on Tuesday and is a plus-two this season on a poor Edmonton team.

Iiro Pakarinen has reportedly signed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

Finnish news outlet Iltalehti reported the signing on Monday, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Pakarinen appeared in 40 games with Edmonton in 2017-18 and he contributed three points He also had 13 points in 18 outings with Bakersfield of the AHL.

Rattie spent most of the season in the minors before coming up to Edmonton in late February. The 25-year-old had five goals and four assists in 14 games with the Oilers. He may not have much fantasy appeal going forward, but he did gain some value down the stretch alongside Connor McDavid. That will be something to keep an eye on for next year.

Klefbom said his shoulder has bothered him for years, but it was nothing structural or a labrum issue. "They went in and basically vacuumed out the shoulder," he said of the surgery. "There was 22 bone fragments. I got great news with only six week recovery so I will be ready and healthy next year."

Adam Larsson won gold at the 2018 IIHF World Championship over the weekend.

Larsson and Team Sweden defeated Switzerland 3-2 in a shootout to claim the gold medal. He notched three points and a plus-13 rating in 10 games during the tournament. Larsson earned a spot on the media All-Star team for his efforts along with fellow Swedes Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Rickard Rakell and Anders Nilsson.

It appears as though Kris Russell will be back in the lineup on Tuesday night.

Russell was paired with Ethan Bear during the morning skate and said he feels ready to return. Coach Todd McLellan mentioned that the line combinations were not set in stone and there could be some game-time decisions.

Nurse finished the final year of his entry-level contract in 2017-18. The 23-year-old defender has some upside, but he hasn't showed that he can be a top-pairing player yet. It's possible he could receive a long-term deal similar to the ones that Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom signed, but a bridge deal could also make sense if he wants to prove that he is worth more than that.

Cam Talbot made 36 saves in a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

Talbot won't get to take his Oilers to the playoffs as he boldly proclaimed partway through the season, but at least he'll end the season with back-to-back victories. Talbot concludes his season with a 31-31-3 record, a 3.02 GAA and a .908 save percentage.

Mikko Koskinen feels better prepared to handle the NHL than he was last time.

Koskinen was drafted with the 31st overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009. He only ended up appearing in four NHL games with the Islanders and struggled mightily with a 4.33 GAA and .873 save percentage in 2010-11. He's been playing in Europe since than and has developed into an elite netminder in the KHL. He had a 1.57 GAA and .937 save percentage in 29 games in 2017-18. Now he's signed a one-year contract with Edmonton to give the NHL another shot. "I wasn’t good enough, I was just a kid … I’m a totally different goalie and person now," Koskinen said, reflecting on his first stint in the NHL. "No, I didn’t feel pressure because I was a high draft pick. It was because I had only played one full year of pro (Espoo Blues) in Europe. I didn’t know the competition (North America) was so hard. It hit me on the blind-side, the mental part was the biggest reason."

Al Montoya might not end up being a part of the Oilers' 2018-19 opening game roster.

We'll have to see what the summer brings of course, but it looks like Edmonton has some interesting in getting a stronger backup option to take some of the pressure off Cam Talbot. It's been reported that Edmonton might sign KHL standout Mikko Koskinen and perhaps they would entertain other options as well. If Edmonton does add a goalie over the summer, then Montoya could be relegated to serving as the team's third-string netminder and consequently start the campaign in the AHL. He comes with a $1,062,500 cap hit in 2018-19, so burying his contract wouldn't be a significant issue.